Toudou Jinpachi
Toudou Jinpachi is a third year student at Hakone Academy and a member of the school's cycling club. Appearance He has dark violet, almost black, hair and he usually wears a blue or white headband. His eyes are light blue in the manga, while they appear to be a darker violet in the anime. Toudou's signature pose is pointing his finger at others. Personality Toudou has a very cheerful, childish, boastful, and loud personality. He constantly references his fanclub and his own beauty, a habit which often irritates others, resulting in them telling him to shut up or dismissing his claims. His personality turns serious whenever he's climbing, as he takes races very seriously. Despite his seemingly vain nature, Toudou shows concern for other people's well-being and encourages them to grow and shine by their own achievements, discouraging shortcuts like copying homework or things like unhealthy eating habits. Plot History Toudou was born and raised in Hakone at his family's hot springs inn, Toudou-An ("Toudou Retreat House"), which has existed since the Meiji era. Initially, he had no interest in joining any athletic club despite his impressive athletic abilities, which he attributed to how his parents took him on hiking trips where he built up endurance and the ability to move efficiently. Toudou's interest lied solely in fashion and having a good appearance. His middle school friend, Itokawa Shuusaku, described Toudou as having a cold attitude, but still being popular among the girls at school. One day when first visiting Toudou's inn during their eighth grade year, Shuusaku, the son of a family that owned a cycle shop, asked Toudou to join him in the Hakone Road Hill Climb race being held at the Hakone turnpike in October. Toudou simply looked at his friend's cycling helmet with disdain and turned down the idea, saying that the helmet would mess up his hair, and that he didn't have the proper bike to ride in a race. Toudou's only bike at the time was an old granny bike he called his "Super Shopping Cart". Previously, Toudou had taken Shuusaku with him to Odawara City to buy a sports jersey, and the two friends had swapped bikes on the way back for fun. Toudou was impressed to ride his friend's fast cross bike, and Shuusaku noted that when he rode Toudou's granny bike, it was incredibly noisy even though it was silent when Toudou rode it. Toudou explained that when he first got the bike, it was already ancient and noisy, so he tried different ways of pedaling until he discovered it made no sound if he pedaled with the most efficiency. The reason he did this was simply because a noisy granny bike was just uncool. Shuusaku convinced Toudou to at least practice the course of the race with him, in return for juice and melon bed. At 2km to the peak, Shuusaku took off ahead of Toudou, thinking that because he has a new road bike, he couldn't lose. Toudou took the challenge and chased after him, dancing at full speed without making a sound. The way he rode was by keeping his core body still and moving his granny bike with his arms to prevent loss. The two had an intense race, so much so that Toudou became aggressive and yelled at his bangs being in his way. Eventually, Toudou passed his friend and won. After their practice race, both collapsed on the ground beside the road and Shuusaku was angry at his defeat, and even angrier at Toudou's lack of reaction to winning. Toudou stated that bicycles never meant anything to him, and he never wore a helmet because he didn't want his hair style ruined, but because he became so invested in the race, he surprised himself by treating his hair, which he meticulously cared for, like a hindrance. Following that, Toudou joined the race at the Hakone turnpike and wore fashionable clothes which he constantly fretted over about sweating in or pinning his bib number too. To him, at races, what was important was how he looked. Shuusaku and Toudou were greeted by Minami, the manager of Hakone Academy's cycling team at the time, who had climbers attending the race. She explained how Hakone was said to be the strongest in the nation, and that in a few years the Inter High may take place in Hakone. She also mentioned the red bib tag and the mountain prize and encouraged the two boys to join Hakone Academy. Minami then told Shuusaku that if he won, she'd give him a kiss. Toudou asked Shuusaku to further explain about the mountain prize as the two waited at the starting line of the race. Upon hearing about it, Toudou, confused at himself, began to get fired up again, desiring the prize more than anything to the point of putting on a helmet without fussing over his hair. He thought that although it was just a "silly bike race", one doesn't know how "silly" something is until they tried that thing first. Shuusaku, terrified of the serious look in his friend's eyes, initially mistook this for Toudou wanting Minami's kiss and sprinted ahead of everyone once the race began, with Toudou riding closely behind him and not paying any mind to the cheering crowds. Shuusaku realized that it must be the mountain prize Toudou was truly after. Because of his sprint, Shuusaku wore out his legs quickly during the first part of the race. After ninth graders from Hadano-Ichi's cycling club passed them, Toudou, worried, called out to Shuusaku, who'd fallen behind at the side of the road. Shuusaku injured his leg further trying to escape the other school and couldn't continue the race, but told Toudou to take his white Ridley road racer and win. What followed is yet unknown, but at some point, Toudou relayed this story to Manami Sangaku when prodded about when he first started getting called "Mountain God", much to Arakita Yasutomo's dismay. According to Toudou, it was the moment he first rode his Ridley. Toudou is first seen during his third year in high school with Hakone Academy's team overseeing the race between Manami and Kuroda Yukinari that would decide which of the two becomes the sixth member of the Inter High team. Riding in the van behind them, he accuses Manami of stealing his fangirls, which his team denies, and loudly comments on the race, causing his teammates to collectively yet mentally tell him to shut up. The anime introduces Toudou a bit earlier as he's seen calling Makishima Yuusuke a few times. Another change the anime made is that Toudou is the one who instructs Manami to scout out Sohoku during the other team's training camp, hinting about an interesting climber on the team. 41st Summer Inter High Day 1 Toudou is later seen at the Inter High with the rest of Hakone Academy's team. He's insistent that all the girls in the audience are staring at him on the stage. Though present when Midousuji Akira taunts Hakone Academy, he only frowns. After Sohoku wins the first checkpoint and begins leading the pack, Toudou rides up front to bother Makishima and introduce himself to Onoda Sakamichi, who he calls "Megane-kun" ("Glasses-kun"), and insults the boy's appearance as "less than a three". Toudou declares that Hakone won't allow Sohoku to take the next checkpoint, the mountain climb, before returning to his own team. As the mountain phase begins, Onoda gets caught in a massive collision involving the pack and ends up in last place while his team rides on ahead without realizing. Because of this, Makishima is stuck pulling his team up the climb and is unable to accept Toudou's challenge to see who reaches the peak first. As he is unaware that Onoda was Sohoku's second climber, Toudou loses his normal flashy and nonchalant demeanor and becomes visibly distraught at the idea that Makishima is refusing to participate in their last climb together. Toudou remains unable to understand why until Arakita (mistakenly) points out that Makishima is Sohoku's only climber. After hearing his, Toudou goes ahead and silently continues the climb alone until out of earshot, when he then yells and cries in frustration. It is revealed that since their first meeting, Toudou and Makishima have always gone head-to-head, ending up at the front of the race and competing with each other more than anyone else. Their score ended up even on both sides and, due to the last race two months earlier not counting because of Makishima's tires going flat, they promised each other to settle the score at the Inter High. Since that time, Toudou has constantly called Makishima to check on his condition and well-being, wanting them both to be in top form for their final race. As Toudou continues up the track, he becomes overwhelmed by his feelings of despair, ignores his cheering fans and juniors on the sidelines, and simply desires for the race to be over as quickly as possible- something he has never felt before. He hears that someone else is arriving behind him, and is momentarily excited because he thinks it might be Makishima, but it is just a climber from Nagano. Then, much to Toudou's surprise, Makishima arrives. Since Onoda caught up to the rest of team Sohoku, Makishima was allowed to ride ahead freely. Makishima greets Toudou by asking about his condition, and Toudou replies that he just reached his best condition. The two begin their race with about 2km left until the summit, passing the single climber in front with ease. Toudou thinks to himself that he wishes the moment could last forever, but knows it won't, and vows to engrave the memory into his heart. The two have an intense race, putting everything they have into their last climb. In the end, Toudou is the victor by a small margin. Though he is exhausted after the climbing battle, Toudou extends his hand to Makishima and thanks him for the past three years, saying he never would have grown this strong or fast without Makishima. The two attempt a high-five but miss because they're both so tired, but they try again and succeed. Toudou is next seen riding alongside Makishima and warning him about Arakita, Hakone Academy's ace assistant, as the aces and their assistants make the final 4km sprint to Day 1's goal line. He describes Arakita as a "weird guy" who likes to take breaks, but warns that in a major event like this, he's entirely different, with a determination like that of a wild animal. Toudou goes on to warn that if Sohoku is riding within Arakita by only a few dozen meters with 2km to the goal line, Hakone Academy will win. The aces and their assistants quickly pass both of them, as does Midousuji afterward, to everyone's surprise. Once the award ceremony for the first day begins, Toudou receives the red number tags and a bouquet of flowers for his winning of the mountain checkpoint. He takes the microphone from the announcer and calls his "life-time rival", Makishima, to the stage, but to no avail. After the ceremony, Manami brings him to Sohoku's tent where he thanks Onoda for allowing him and Makishima to have their race together. He encourages Onoda to survive and grow stronger, and recants his earlier insult that Onoda was less than a three, visually speaking, stating that the boy was a good climber and has nice eyes, which greatly embarrasses Onoda. Almost as quickly as he's able to compliment Onoda, Toudou's words turn dark as he describes the upcoming Day 2 as a death match because three teams have tied on Day 1. To him, that means that since no one pulled ahead, he'll need to ride solely for his team, even if it means giving up his red number tags. Toudou warns Onoda to rest up well for the next race, as it's going to be considerably more difficult, foreshadowing the unfortunate events to follow. After the Inter High Some time during the winter after the 41st Summer Inter High and before his graduation, Toudou is seen mentoring Manami and Onoda at Hakone. He invited them under the guise that there would be a party, but it turns out to be a race to decide which of the two will inherit Toudou's coveted titles of "Mountain God" and "King of the Mountains." Toudou himself does not race, as he states he'd never race in such cold weather. Since the road is full of snow, neither Onoda nor Manami can complete the climb, so Toudou declares that they'll have to settle it at the next Inter High. He asks for Onoda's phone number and tells him to call him "on that day." Skills and Techniques Toudou is known as "Sleeping Beauty" because he is able to accelerate and pass other racers very quietly, leaving them shocked because they didn't hear him coming up behind them. Though Toudou proclaims himself "Sleeping Beauty," according to Makishima, competitors call him the "Forest Ninja" behind his back. Toudou's quiet technique makes it difficult for his opponents to block him from passing them. Relationships Makishima Yuusuke When Toudou and Makishima first met in a race, Toudou was amazed by Makishima's cycling. Makishima, on the other hand, just told Toudou that wearing a hair band is ugly. After losing to Makishima race, Toudou told him that he should smile. Makishima made an attempt, but Toudou thought it was creepy. The two have been rivals ever since, competing against each other in various races. In what should have been their tie-breaker race, Makishima was plagued by a punctured tire and therefore had to drop out. It was then that Toudou and Makishima promised that they would settle the score at the Inter High. Manami Sangaku Trivia : His family runs a ryokan in Hakone ;Likes : Tai chazuke. ;Collects : Headbands. ;Talents : Calligraphy (his family owns a historic ryokan in Hakone) ;Best Subject : Japanese history Gallery toudou highfive.png| Toudou giving Makishima a high five toudou pencil board.png Toudou.Jinpachi.full.1608765.jpg|Anime concept art. Toudou.Jinpachi.full.1573367.jpg|Alternate anime concept art. toudou1.png toudou2.png toudou onsen.png Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Cyclists Category:Students Category:Climbers Category:Astrological sign: Leo Category:Blood type: A Category:Hakone Academy Bicycle Club